I think the post you quoted there says he'd be an ineffective senator, not a joke. There's a difference. Ron Johnson, for example, is both an ineffective senator AND a joke. He believes people are stupid and that's why Obama won the election (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/0 ... 95322.html). When a Wisconsin political scientist voiced a similar opinion after the 2010 Wisconsin gubernatorial election, there was an outcry among Republicans.

Back to Franken: I don't live in Minnesota, but between that state's two U.S. Senators, I prefer Klobuchar.